Television system



June 28, 1938. A. J. CAWLEY Tzmvgsmu SYSTEM Filed June 3, 1930 INVENTOR BY ATTORNEY Patented June 28, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 13 Claims.

The invention relates generally to the. electrical transmission of images by means of wire or wireless communicating means. larly itgis concerned with the production of a very compact means of both demonstrating a television image and simultaneously receiving and transmitting an image and has as a very desirable object the simultaneous carrying on of a telephone and a television intercourse, it being possible for two persons to hear and see each other as though actually in each others presence.

The image is received from the distant station and demonstrated in the same image areas the image of the person or object that is transmitted is demonstrated. The advantage resulting from this arrangement is that two persons carrying on a telephone-television communication appear to be looking directly at each other.

The invention also produces an image from a number of light sources.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, in which similar reference characters have like meanings in all of the views, and in which,

Figure 1 is an elevational view of one form of the television transmitting-receiving discs, illustrating the combined photoelectric cells and neon lamps spirally arranged.

Figure 2 is a side view of Figure 1 and also illustrates the operation of the apparatus as well as its connection to the transmission and receiving apparatus.

Figure 3 illustrates a modification of the invention, in which the photoelectric elements are arranged singly along the spiral line. i

- Figure 1 illustrates at I a disc of bakelite or other material which carries on its surface a series of pairs of photoelectric elements consisting of a photoelectric cell 2 of the well-known cylindrical form and a neon lamp 3. Each of these pairs is arranged in a spiral line on the scanning disc. Wires 0. and b are shown connecting two opposite commutator segments of commutator B. It is to be noted that, particularly with the neon tubes, connection to but one conductor and scanning tube is suflicient. The disc is mounted upon and turned by a shaft operated by motor 8. A cylindrical lens is provided having its axis at right angles to the photoelectric cell or neon tube and is shown at 4. This acts to concentrate the light coming from the tube into a fine, sharp line having its axis at right angles to that of the tube. The connection of a photoelectric cell 2 is shown and is the same for both the neon tubes and cells on both sides of the disc I. Cur- More particurent passes from the cell to wire a to commutator segment of a commutator 6 to brush 8 to transmitting circuit and back to an opposite brush 6, to wire b to cell 2. The image is formed by a lens L in the aperture 5. The same lens may be 5 used to view the image formed by the neon tubes in this same aperture 5.

In Figure 2 the two-way transmission possibities are clearly illustrated. Motor 8 moves shaft 7 and disc I and commutator 6. The disc is ro- 10 tated in synchronism with a similar disc at the distant station. A lens concentrates the image in the well known manner in the aperture 5, and actuates the series of photoelectric cells that are rapidly moved past the aperture in the well known 15 manner. Placed side by side and moving in absolute synchronism with the series of photoelectric cells 2 are neon tubes 3, one being provided to correspond with each cell. An image-modulated electromagnetic wave train is received by the an- 20 tenna of the receiving apparatus r and is amplified therein. This amplified current passes by wires 0 to the brush 0 to commutator 6 to wire a to neon tube 3, and if desired to wire b to opposite segment of commutator to brush e to wire 17 '25 and back to the amplifying apparatus. The disc scans the image and the latter is produced in the well known manner. The cylindrical lens reduces all of the illumination of the tube to a sharp short line. '30

An image of the observer or person conducting the conversation is formed by a lens (not shown) in aperture 5, and as the series of photoelectric cells sweep past, the image is scanned. The current from the cell passes by the wire to the commutator Ba to brush 0 by wire m to transmitting circuit 73, to wire 11. to brush a to commutator 6a and by wire (as illustrated in Figure 1) to cell 2. If a chopper effect is desired, a spur wheel 9 is mounted on shaft 1 and coacts with wheel I0, which in turn moves chopper wheel I I mounted on the same shaft therewith and supported by the casing of motor 8. Two brushes 1 and 7' are shown playing upon the chopper wheel II. The insulated segments of the latter are partly illustrated by the dark lines across its face. Its action is to break the current up into a series of dots or dashes in the well known manner. The chopper acts to produce illumination in the aperture 5 in a series of transverse lines each of which is broken up into a series of dots or dashes, and produces the effect of a half tone picture. A low intensity current may be constantly applied to the neon tube circuits to maintain it in operating condition.

Figure 2 shows a variation of the invention which consists in arranging the photoelectric elements in the form of single row of photoelectric elements in contradistinction to a double row as shown in the other figures. There is accordingly a slight difference in synchronism between the neon tube image and the photoelectric cell image. In the arrangement illustrated in Figure 1 the neon tube image and the photo cell images are scanned in absolute synchronism.

Figure 3 is therefore, identical with Figure 2 except for the fact that photo cells 2 and neon lamps 3 traverse the image area consecutively, there being only one of each in the frame 5 at a time, and also for the fact that the type of neon lamp is shown which may be illuminated by means of one connection or wire only. When the image modulated electromagnetic waves from the transmitting station are received and converted into image-modulated electric current by the usual wireless receiving means, such as that of Figure 2, this current is conducted to the commutator Bby means of wires and brushes (as wires 11 and o and brushes e and c of Figure 2). This image modulated current is in turn conducted to the neon lamp 3 by means of wire it (since only one wire is necessary in this modification). The lamps therefore reproduce the received image in the image aperture or frame 5, while traversing its elementary areas successively therein. The

fact is brought out in Figure 3 that but one wire.

a may be necessary to connect the neon lamps, as there is a well known special type of lamp on the market that may be illuminated by means of a single Wire connection. An image is formed in the aperture 5 by means of lens placed in front of it, such as that shown in Figure 1. The photoelectric cells 2 also traverse this image. They are suitably connected to the commutator on the opposite side of the disk I (as shown in Figure 2). Accordingly, the image modulated current generated in these cells is amplified and connected to suitable transmitting apparatus (such as, for instance, thatshown in Figure 2) and an image modulated wave train is sent to the distant station.

This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial Number 50,528 filed August 15, 1925 for Electro optical system and of application Serial Number 455,127,:filed May 23, 1930 for Television apparatus.

Having described my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The method of simultaneously producing a television image in an image aperture by moving a plurality of light sources consecutively in adjacent paths in said image aperture while supplying said sources with image modulated electric current in order to utilize all of the light of said source to form a visible image in said apertubes and said photoelectric cells being so arranged as to simultaneously occupy said image aperture, said tubes and cells having appropriate electrical circuits in order to simultaneously receive a television image and transmit another television image.

3. In combination: a revolving medium carrying a group of light sources spirally arranged, each of said light sources being provided with cylindrical lenses whose axes are at right angles to the axes of said light sources, means for actuating but one of said sources in accordance with an image current.

4. A scanning disc having a spiral line of alternate photo cells and neon tubes.

5. A scanning disc cooperable with a single image aperture having a series of neon tubes arranged in a spiral line and a series of photoelectric cells arranged in a spiral line, said tubes and said cells being so arranged as to successively occupy said single image aperture.

6. A scanning disc cooperable with a single image aperture having a series of neon tubes arranged in a spiral line and a commutator whose segments are connected therewith in such manner that but one cell is actuated at a time, and

a series of photoelectric cells arranged in a spiral line and a commutator Whose segments are connected therewith in such manner that but one cell is at any instant actuated for the simultaneous reproduction and transmission of television images, said tubes and said cells being so arranged as to successively occupy said single image aperture.

7. A two-way television method consisting of receiving image modulated radio waves from a distant station and converting said Waves into light at successive elemental areas of an image area in order to reproduce an image in and coextensive with said image area, simultaneously forming a second image in said image area coextensive With said area and with said reproduced image, and consecutively converting the light of said image into a second image modulated electric current at successive elemental areas of said second image and coextensively in said image area, converting said second image modulated current into image modulated radio waves and transmitting said waves to a distant station.

8. A two-way television method consisting of receiving image modulated radio waves from a distant station and converting said waves into light at successive elemental areas of an image area in order to reproduce an image in and coextensive with said image area, simultaneously forming a second image in said image area coextensive with said area and with said reproduced image, and consecutively converting the light of said image into a second image modulated electric current at successive elemental areas of said second image and coextensively in said image area.

9. A tWo-way television method consisting of receiving image modulated radio waves from a distant station and converting said waves into light at successive elemental areas of an image area in order to reproduce an image in and coextensive with said image area, simultaneously forming a second image in said image area coextensive with said area and with said reproduced image, and consecutively converting the light of said image into a second image modulated electric current at successive elemental areas of said second image and coextensively in said image area and transmitting said second image modulated electric current to a distant station.

10. A two way television apparatus consisting of means for forming an image, an image aperture in which said image is formed, a plurality of photoelectric cells and suitable associated circuits, means for moving said photoelectric cells singly and consecutively in adjacent paths through said image aperture to produce an image modulated electric current; a plurality of light sources and suitable associated circuits, means for moving said light sources consecutively and singly in adjacent paths through said image aperture, means for supplying said light sources with a suitable image modulated current to produce a visible image in said aperture by the variation in intensity and movement of said light source, the image formed by said image forming means and the image produced by said light sources being coextensive with said image aperture.

11. A two-way television apparatus consisting of an image forming means, an image aperture in which said image is formed, a disk cooperating with and movable across said image aperture, a plurality of photoelectric cells and glow lamps spirally arranged on one face of said. disk and movable thereby consecutively and singly in adjacent paths across said image aperture, a commutator associated with said disk and suitably connected to said photoelectric cells, a second commutator associated with said disk and suitably connected to said glow lamps, means cooperating with said commutator for connecting each of said photoelectric cells singly and consecutively as it moves across said aperture to a transmission circuit, means coacting with said second commutator for connecting each of said glow lamps singly and consecutively as it traverses said image aperture to a receiving circuit, the image formed by said image forming means and the image produced by said glow lamps being coextensivewith said image aperture.

12. A television apparatus consisting of an image aperture, a rotatable disk adjacent and in cooperative relation with said aperture, a plurality of electro-optical elements mounted upon said disk and movable thereby across an image formed in said aperture singly and consecutively in adjacent paths, a commutator suitably connected to said electro-optical elements, means cooperating with said commutator for consecutively connecting each of saidelectro-optical elements to an external circuit as each of said elements traverses said image aperture and a cylindrical lens adjacent each of said electro-optical elements with its longitudinal axis at approximately a right angle to the axis of said electro-optical element.

13. A two way television process consisting of forming an image of light waves in an image area, successively converting the light of the elemental areas of said image into image varied electric current at the successive elemental areas of said image area, and converting a second image varied electric current into light waves at successive elemental areas of said image area in order to obtain a reproduced image in said image area, said image and said reproduced image being coextensive in said image area.

ALOYSIUS J. CAWLEY. 

